As we already covered here, the Toronto Blue Jays are set to get hit with massive financial penalties as a result of signing Dylan Cease to a seven-year deal worth $210 million.

Most fans don't care about that, as they just want to see the Blue Jays put together a team that can get back to the World Series in 2026. However, fans might care about this since it actually impacts the on-field product: The Jays are also being hit with draft penalties and international signing penalties for signing Cease.

As noted by MLBTradeRumors:

Cease rejected a qualifying offer from the Padres. The Jays are hit with the highest penalty to sign a qualified free agent because they paid the competitive balance tax this year. They’ll surrender their second- and fifth-highest selections in the 2026 draft plus $1MM from their international bonus pool in 2027.

Why this is a big deal

At the end of the day, no matter how much money you have, you have to be able to fill out your roster with internal talent. Homegrown players allow your roster to be more affordable, flexible and homegrown players are under team control for six or seven crucial years.

The Blue Jays have done a decent job at this with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Bo Bichette, Trey Yesavage, Addison Barger and Alejandro Kirk, but the farm system is not well-regarded across baseball. Therefore, there are doubts about if the Blue Jays can continue to find internal answers for the next few seasons. Part of the reason why the Jays have had to spend so big in free agency over the last five years is because of the lack of homegrown and developed talent.

And if you take away these draft picks and this international signing money, all you've done is exacerbate the concern. There will be two less prospects for the Jays to work with, keeping the minor league pipeline for the future just a little more barren.

As for now

The Jays will continue to look for talent on the free agent market with the winter meetings coming up next week. So far, they've already been linked to Bichette, Kyle Tucker and a host of top-end relievers. Cody Bellinger is also an option, and we covered the possibility of a Ketel Marte trade in this post.

With regards to prospects that can help Toronto in 2026? Left-handed pitcher Ricky Tiedemann and right-hander Jake Bloss look like the most likely.

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